Museum of Nature workers could strike in March

Unionized workers at the Canadian Museum of Nature have voted in favour of a strike in March, in the event that ongoing labour negotiations fail to produce a contract.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada said Monday about 78 per cent of workers voted to give the union a strike mandate if a deal could not be reached. The 175 workers include guides and people who work to mount and restore exhibits at the museum on McLeod Street in Ottawa, as well as administrative workers at offices in Gatineau.

The union said its workers would be in a legal strike position March 12. The employees have been without a contract since June 2010.

The union and the museum are set to meet with a conciliator on Tuesday in hopes of reaching an agreement before the strike deadline.

The main issues are job security, scheduling and contracting out, said PSAC spokesman Larry Rousseau.

"When you have a premier, first-class institution … we need good, qualified professionals to run the museum and continue to mount the exhibits, explain the exhibits to the Canadian public," said Rousseau.